


Mirror Mirror

by idrilhadhafang



Series: Switched Morality, Take Two [1]
Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Inverted Morality, Badass Rey, Blood and Violence, Competent Finn, Corporal Punishment, Dark Leia Organa, Dark Poe, Dominant Leia Organa, Eventual Poe Dameron/Kylo Ren, Eventual Romance, Force-Sensitive Leia Organa, Good Kylo Ren, Good Snoke, Graphic Description, M/M, Non-Consensual Violence, Pilot Finn, Pilot Rey, Poe Dameron Redemption, Slow Burn Poe Dameron/Kylo Ren, Sort Of, Twisted Hurt/Comfort, Whipping, in a nonsexual way
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-07
Updated: 2018-06-17
Packaged: 2019-05-19 09:46:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14871428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idrilhadhafang/pseuds/idrilhadhafang
Summary: A long time ago in a galaxy far far away, Snoke’s Knights of Ren have to fight against the oppressive New Republic...





	1. Evacuation

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing. 
> 
> Author’s Notes: Title from the song of the same name by Def Leppard. Thought it would be appropriate, really.

Kylo Ren was awoken by a disturbance in the Force, a disturbance that practically screamed a warning. 

He jumped out of bed in that moment, slipped on his mask and robes and ran into the courtyard of Dantooine — and it was there that he saw the ships. He knew them too well. New Republic ships. 

The New Republic had found them. They had to run. 

Phasma was the one who greeted him in that moment. “Kylo!” she said. “Thank the stars. I thought you were caught in there too.”

”I’m all right,” Kylo said. “How did they find us?”

”I don’t know,” Phasma said. “But we need to defend Dantooine. They’re probably going to deploy at any moment. You take the skies, I’ll take the ground.” 

A bang, and countless New Republic soldiers were all but running out, shooting at all in their path. Phasma took out her double-bladed lightsaber and charged at the soldiers. “Go!”

Kylo took a deep breath and took out his lightsaber, he and Phasma fighting off soldiers on the way to the hangar. Even as Kylo sliced them down, he had to admit that he was already getting tired, but he would be damned if he gave up. 

They made it to the hangar, and Kylo found the ships. He didn’t pilot often, but it was a joy, quite honestly, when he did. 

He blasted off into the sky, knowing that no matter what happened, he had to protect the evacuees at all costs. 

***

That was Ben Solo. 

That was Kylo Ren. 

Commander Poe Dameron already had him dead in his sights, and he was ready to fire. He had his orders from General Organa, after all. Capture him if he could. It seemed that General Organa was still reluctant, for the moment, to kill her wayward son.

Poe had to admire that, at least. 

Poe locked on the target. Before he could fire, though, Kylo fired back. Poe barely dodged in time. It was Poe’s X-wing against whatever that ship was, and even as they fired —

— Poe’s ship scored a hit. 

It didn’t blast the ship into shards of what they used to be, but it was enough to stun the ship, sending it falling towards the planet of Dantooine. 

***

Poe was the one who rescued him from the crash, pulling him out of the ship. Even as he did, he noticed the mask staring up at him. Poe had heard stories about the man behind the mask, whether they be stories about what a horrible son Ben Solo was to hurt his mother like that (whatever happened) or stories about some of the things he had done in the name of the Knights of Ren. 

Poe, slowly, lifted the mask away from Kylo’s face, and underneath...

He was an unusual sort of beautiful, but he was beautiful all the same. Black hair falling around his face. Full, soft lips, long lashes. There was something about his face that was a bizarre mixture of strong and delicate. 

It definitely wasn’t what Poe was expecting, he knew that much. 

Even bringing him in, one of the pilots said, “We didn’t have to bring him back alive.”

”We did,” Poe said. “Because the General ordered it.”

”Why would she care? If that were my son, I would have killed him myself...”

Poe couldn’t help but feel prickles go up his spine even as the pilot said that. “The General has her reasons, no doubt.”

Even if he didn’t know what she’d do with Ren yet. 

 


	2. Conversations in the Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Poe and Kylo talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing. 
> 
> Author’s Notes: Figured I’d give credit where credit’s due: http://actualodinson.tumblr.com/post/47572185210/list-of-aus-for-fanfic-writers/amp
> 
> Also, special thanks to MidgardianNerd for her help with this chapter!

“Well done, Poe. You did beautifully.”

That was what Leia Organa said even as Poe went before her to report that Kylo Ren had been captured. Poe had to treasure moments like this because sometimes the General would praise you, sometimes she’d hit you. Poe still had the scars from where she’d lashed him after one failure mission, scars on his back that still tingled occasionally. 

“Thank you, General.” Poe swallowed, then said, “About Kylo Ren’s...fate...”

He was grateful, at any rate, that those on the bridge were momentarily quiet. If they had gone into roars of how Ren should be tortured, it would have been too much. 

The General’s face hardened in disgust. “There is no good in Kylo Ren, and he’s only getting stronger. I thought, long ago, he could be redeemed. I was mistaken."

”What should we do with him?”

“Imprison him. That’s what.” The General didn’t sneer or cackle, but her face was stone. “We may have no choice.”

 Poe nodded. It sounded reasonable, at least. Lock him up, just for what he’d done. He had heard stories about what exactly Kylo Ren had done. Parts of the galaxy had called him a monster for things that he’d done under General Organa’s command — in the end, he was doing his job. All to protect the New Republic. 

He headed down towards the prison cell where Kalonia had been assigned as Ren’s personal medic. Kalonia was treating some of the injuries that Ren had sustained in the crash, and Ren was talking. Outside the mask, Poe realized his voice was surprisingly soft. Still deep, but almost musical. Definitely not the slimy sort, but gentle to listen to. 

Even his name had a sort of music to it. Kylo Ren. “Ky”, like the sky. “Lo”, music in and of itself.

Kylo. It was music to listen to. 

Kalonia looked up in surprise, and then said, “If you’re here to interrogate him — ’’

“I’m not,” Poe said. “Doctor...”

”He was badly injured in the crash,” said Kalonia. “Can you at least give me a moment?”

Poe nodded.

***

It was later when Poe returned that Kylo could practically feel his eyes on him. Kylo took time to take him in — he was just as handsome, as beautiful in fact, as the man on the propaganda posters. Kylo could remember those propaganda posters, and how heroic he looked on those posters — of course, Master Snoke had said that looks could be deceiving. “ _If the face is lovely enough, the people will buy anything_.” he said. 

Kylo took him in slowly. Brown eyes, a sculpted nose, sculpted lips, high cheekbones, smooth olive skin — he was beautiful in a way that Kylo could never be. He was awkward, to say the least — his large ears, his large nose. His father tried to comfort him over this, saying that he had the Solo nose, and Snoke had assured him that looks could be deceiving,  but Kylo couldn’t help but look away, unwilling to let this man see his face. 

He wished he had the mask right now. 

“No need to look away.” Even Dameron’s voice was beautiful, musical. “I couldn’t help but talk to you. You’re very beautiful.”

Beautiful. That was something that Kylo couldn’t say that he had quite been called. 

“Not truly.”

”You are,” Dameron said. “I don’t know what I expected under the mask, but it wasn’t that. Not truly.”

Kylo felt a blush, and not an entirely unpleasant one, climb up his cheeks. He wondered if he was as red as the surface of Yavin right now. 

“Is Doctor Kalonia right?” he said. “Are you going to interrogate me?”

”I don’t torture. Others could...but I’m not letting them.”

The fact that Dameron was holding back others who were conceivably worse was something Kylo doubted he could think about. 

“We’re not the bad guys.”

Kylo looked up at him in defiance. “What you’ve done suggests otherwise.”

 Silence. 

“They’re calling for my torture, aren’t they?” Kylo said. “Tell me — how am I the monster?”

Dameron actually looked pained. Then, “You’re misguided, at most.”

”Reassuring,” Kylo said sarcastically. 

 “We’re not monsters. What we want is a better galaxy after Palpatine. That’s not terrible, is it?”

”Palpatine wasn’t evil.”

”I’m trying to do what’s right,” Dameron said. “Really.”

But in his head, Kylo could see it. He could see  Dameron on his knees, shirtless, as some sort of whip cracked against his back, and Kylo’s mother was the one doing the whipping...

Kylo’s breath hitched. “She did this to you?”

Dameron didn’t look away. “I earned it,” he said. 

“No. A good leader doesn’t beat their soldiers. Or whip them. My mother’s not a good leader.”

“I earned it.”

”I have a feeling the punishment doesn’t fit the crime.”

Silence. 

“I’ll tell you,” Dameron said. “And maybe you’ll understand.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	3. Flashback

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poe tells a bit of his story, and Finn breaks Kylo out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

_It was approaching the bridge that Poe knew he was in for a lot of trouble. He had been foolish, that he knew, and whatever punishment he was about to receive would be fitting at most._

_The General stood in all her glory, and her face was stony. “Commander Dameron,” she said. “Come with me.”_

_Murmurs and whispers broke out among the bridge, to which the General’s friend, Vice Admiral Holdo, had to quiet. Over there, Holdo said, “That’s enough, everyone. This is not a sideshow.”_

_Poe didn’t see eye-to-eye with the Vice Admiral on a lot of things, but he had to be grateful for that much._

_They reached a private room, which seemed all but walled off from the rest. General Organa spoke, coldly. “You disobeyed me, Poe. I expected better from you after years of service.” Then,_ _“Take off your shirt.”_

_Poe’s spine could have become a column of ice  in that moment. “No,” he said, and his voice sounded almost small. He didn’t want to take his shirt off for the General; already, he had a feeling that whatever came next, it was pure humiliation._

_“Take it off,” Leia snapped. “Unless you want me to do it for you.”_

_If it had literally been anyone else, Poe would have made some sort of joke. He couldn’t, though._

_He removed his shirt. His body wasn’t ridiculously ripped like what you’d see in the holovids and magazines. There was always a bit of fat on his stomach, over his pecs. He couldn’t help but wish that he was doing this in a more consensual setting, with someone who wasn’t the General._

_”Get on your hands and knees.”_

_“Why?”_

_”Do it, before I make you.”_

_Poe got on his hands and knees. His knees ached even as he did so, as did his hands, but he wasn’t ready to cave. The first crack of the whip landed on his skin, cutting and sharp, and he bit his lip against the pain._

_“Count them.” The General’s voice was firm, and Poe did. One, two, three, four, five..._

_He focused on the floor tiles even as he counted. Anything, really, to stop the pain._

Even as he spoke, Poe looked over at Kylo, whose eyes were wide. Then, “There was nothing you did that warranted such a thing.”

”I failed the General. I deserved — ’’

”You could come with me,” Kylo said. “We could protect you.”

Poe paused. Could Kylo? And was Snoke’s side really the right one? 

Then, “I don’t like the General’s tactics. But I’m fighting for the New Republic because it’s the right thing to do.”

”Is it?” 

And even looking into that beautiful, almost angelic face, Poe said, “Yes.”

***

It was that night that Kylo saw the soldier, a young man who looked to be in his early twenties at most, outside his cell. He wondered for a moment if this was a proper interrogation, but the force field deactivated and Kylo said, “What’s going on?”

”This is a rescue,” said the soldier. He was quite handsome, almost holostar handsome, with short black hair and russet reddish brown skin. He wore almost unassuming New Republic soldier clothes, and Kylo wondered, absently, why a New Republic soldier would help him escape. 

“Why?” Kylo said. 

“Because it’s the right thing to do.” A beat. “The escape pods are a long while away, but we can make it. I hope.”

“I hope so too.”

Fighting their way to the escape pods was hard. Even cutting down soldier after soldier, it seemed that they just kept coming. But finally they found the escape pods, and they climbed in. 

Kylo could only hope that it wasn’t the end of him even as they launched. 

_***_

It was later that Poe got the news that Kylo had escaped — in the form of a very angry Leia Organa. 

She walked up to him, and Poe dreaded that look in her eyes. It was one of those looks that suggested that he was in for, to put it mildly, a galaxy of pain. 

“Commander Dameron,” she said. 

“General,” Poe said. 

“You let him escape, didn’t you?” the General said. 

Poe shook his head. “I had nothing to do with it, General, I swear.”

”You were negligent,” Leia said. “Do you have any idea how many lives you put at risk? Come with me.”

The others on the bridge murmured, clearly in some sort of fear. They didn’t know exactly what the General did behind closed doors, but there were always the stories. 

Poe stripped when the General ordered him to. Stood against the wall when she ordered him to. And he counted the lashes as they hit, one by one. 

One by one...

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the lashes stopped. The General applied bacta to them, but Poe knew it was more about practicality than anything else. He dressed, headed into his chambers, where he doubted he could sleep. 

He doubted he could go back either. He was effectively, stuck.

Poe turned onto his side — he couldn’t lie on his still-healing back — and tried, uneasily, to get to sleep. 

 

 


	4. Recovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo wakes up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Kylo awoke in some sort of hut, with the soldier from earlier standing over him. 

“Good to see you up,” said the soldier. “I thought I’d almost lost you for a moment.” A faint smile. “I’m Finn, by the way. Finn Windu.”

”Kylo Ren.”

”Yeah, I know. You were drifting in and out of consciousness for the past few days; I managed to get you to safety.” Finn ran a hand through his short hair. “You’re on Kashyyyk. I'm not a very good pilot, but I managed to get us both there.”

Kylo looked up at him. “I owe you my life,” he said. “Thank you.” Then, “Why did you do this for me?”

”It’s complicated. I haven’t liked what General Organa’s been doing for quite some time. You probably heard about it, right?”

Kylo nodded. Part of him didn’t want to admit that his mother could do such terrible things. And yet here they both were. 

“So I wanted out, basically. And...you’re a pilot, right?”

“Just about all my life,” Kylo said. 

“So I needed some help.”

”Well,” Kylo said. “Thank you. Really.”

”No problem.”

There was a brief silence before Kylo said, “Is there any chance I could contact Snoke? He’s my master, and I want to make sure we can get off Kashyyyk.”

Finn nodded. 

Even finding the nearest piece of technology and dialing Snoke, Kylo could only hope that he could reach Snoke and the others. He managed to, and Snoke appeared in a giant hologram that almost filled the room. “Master Snoke,” Kylo said. 

“Kylo Ren,” Snoke rumbled. “It’s good to hear your voice. Our sources told me that General Organa took you prisoner.”

”I escaped,” Kylo said. “A former soldier assisted me.” A beat. “His name’s Finn.”

”Indeed?” Snoke said. “A soldier defecting from her ranks. I can’t say I’ve heard of such a feat. Quite impressive.”

Kylo nodded. Then, he said, “Is there any chance you can protect him? In case the New Republic retaliates?”

“Of course,” Snoke said. “Is that not what the Knights of Ren are for, in the end? Providing shelter to those who need it.” A beat. “Where are you?”

”Kashyyyk,” Kylo said. “Finn took us there.”

”We’re on our way.” A beat. “And I must say, I am impressed. This young man you found may yet shift the tide in our favor.”

Kylo basked in the praise. He couldn’t help it. Praise from Snoke was always welcome to hear; in his childhood, only his father had really been consistent with affection. 

“He might,” Kylo said. 

Snoke’s hologram faded out, and Finn turned to look at Kylo. “So, Snoke — ’’

”He’ll take you in,” Kylo said. “He did the same with me in the past.”

***

It was long after the transmission with Kylo ended that Snoke sighed. If anything, he was relieved that Kylo was safe. And this Finn...this Finn seemed like a genuinely honorable man. 

“You okay?” Rey, the scavenger. She was currently piloting the ship that they had found on Jakku, the _Millennium Falcon_. 

“Yes,” Snoke said. “Rey — would you type in the coordinates to Kashyyyk? I have a feeling that we’ll need to launch a rescue.”

Rey did so. Even as she did, Snoke said, “You continue to impress me, child.”

Rey wrinkled her nose in disdain. “I’m nineteen.”

”It’s an expression. But you continue to impress me. You pilot like some of the best I’ve seen.”

”My parents taught me. And later, Plutt.”

”They taught you well.”

”They did.” Rey took a deep breath. “We’ll get to Kashyyyk soon enough. I hope. And then you can rescue your friends.”


	5. Reconsiderations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kashyyyk burns.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

It was on the bridge of the  _Raddus_ that General Organa looked over the expanses of Kashyyyk. It had taken some time to find the necessary information (thanks to Kaydel Ko Connix) as to where exactly Finn and Kylo had gone. But they’d found Kashyyyk. 

Now was the question of what to do with it. 

It wasn’t the first time that Leia had done such a thing. There was blowing up one of Palpatine’s strongholds, which the Rebellion had done mostly to make a point. And now Kashyyyk. Leia had no desire to burn Kashyyyk, but she would take what she needed. 

Just to get her son back, as well as the traitor Finn. 

Yes. She would take what she needed. 

***

It was on Kashyyyk that the announcement sounded through the speakers. “This is General Leia Organa of the New Republic ship the _Raddus —_ you are currently sheltering two fugitives from justice. Hand them over or face the consequences.”

The Wookiee Malla all but roared back. It was clear that she was asking what exactly the meaning of this was. 

“You’re harboring a war criminal and a traitor. If you shelter them, you’re good as putting yourself and others in danger."

Kylo couldn’t help but feel his hands tighten into fists so tight that they ached. War criminal? He was no war criminal. Then again, of course the New Republic would tell lies about him. Call him a monster. They were liars and monsters themselves, all of them. 

Malla roared back, and Kylo could swear he heard the General sigh. “Then it looks like we have no choice. Open fire.”

***

The Falcon swooped over a vision of hell, and Snoke clutched his forehead. He could practically feel every life being all but snuffed our even as the guns of the Raddus continued to fire on Kashyyyk. Rey turned to look at him. “Are you okay?” she said. 

“Kashyyyk is burning,” Snoke said. “General Organa likely won’t stop until everyone on that planet is dead.”

”I know.” Rey steered through the flames, towards one of the Kashyyyk walkways. Snoke has to admire her piloting skills; if they ever got to someplace safe, he would have to ask her more about them. 

Kylo and Finn headed into the Falcon, practically sprinted in, and they took off for Jakku. 

***

The main hold was relatively quiet even as the others sat there. The pilot had set the course for Jakku, where they could find refuge. It wasn’t the best planet, Kylo thought, but it was better than no place to hide at all. Snoke had to recover from what he had felt on Kashyyyk, and Kylo had to come to terms with the fact his own mother had basically tried to kill him. 

Like his uncle wasn’t bad enough. 

Was there no one in his family who wasn’t somehow a monster? Besides his father, that is. 

Finn placed a hand on Kylo’s arm. Kylo couldn’t help but be comforted by the gesture. “Are you okay?”

Kylo nodded. He wouldn’t deny that he was afraid. Afraid of what was still to come. But he would find a way to face it nonetheless. He turned to the pilot. “How far is it to Jakku?”

”Pretty far. They’ll never find us there.”

”Right. What is your name?”

The girl smiled a bit. “Rey. And you’re Kylo Ren, aren’t you?”

Kylo nodded. 

“I actually thought you were a myth. I had no idea you were real.” Rey stepped out of the cockpit to sit with him and Finn. “Then again, all of it...I thought a lot of it were myths.”

”It’s as real as you or me." Kylo sighed. “You could join us. You don’t have to be Force Sensitive to join. As long as you’re with us, you’re under our protection.”

”I think I can handle myself.”

”I know. But the New Republic’s going to be looking for you. You saw what they did to Kashyyyk.” Kylo sighed. “They won’t stop until I’m captured or dead.”

“I know.” Rey sighed. “Jakku should be safe. The New Republic could never track us through hyperspace. And even if they could, Jakku’s not the first place they’d look.”

Kylo swallowed. “I hope you’re right.”

***

It was alone in his quarters that Poe got some time to think. Like just about everyone else, he’d seen what exactly General Organa did to Kashyyyk. And he still couldn’t get the images out of his head. The burning trees, the shattered walkways...

And he hadn’t said anything. At least, if he did, it was drowned out by everything else. Ignored. 

The question was what to do now. He couldn’t betray the General, and yet...everything about it was wrong. Kashyyyk hadn’t deserved that. 

But if...

Poe sighed. No. It was ridiculous. How he could keep this up without being caught...

Poe had been used to thinking the New Republic was good. Truly good. Had been used to justifying, rationalizing. But this...

He punched his pillow into a more comfortable shape as BB-8, his droid, wheeled towards him, dwooing softly. 

Poe sighed. “I’m okay, buddy. I’m just...worried.” Could he find ways to tweak from the inside? 

Poe didn’t know. He just knew it would be worth the lashings he got, and then some. 


	6. Chase

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leia tracks Kylo and co. to Jakku.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

There had been stories about the extent of the General’s power. Some said that she could fly, and breathe in the vacuum of space, and Poe didn’t know about those stories, but he could say that the General was very powerful. 

She was definitely no slouch, Poe would say that much. Even the full extent of her powers...there were times, Poe thought, when she seemed to be from a different galaxy altogether, and it both awed and scared him. 

The General emerged from her quarters, dressed in her finest robes, looking more like someone dressed for a gala than a war (but looks could be deceiving. She was still incredibly ruthless). Finally, she said, “They’re on Jakku.”

”Jakku?” Amilyn Holdo was the one who spoke this time. “That’s as good as a nowhere planet.”

”It is,” said the General. “But it’s an important historical monument as well. This is where Palpatine’s army was defeated. And here’s where we can, perhaps, defeat the Knights of Ren.”

Poe spoke up this time. “Could we find a way to do it without endangering people on Jakku?” he said.

Silence. The others looked flabbergasted — fearful, even. 

The General spoke. “Much must be risked in war.”

”Even those on Jakku who had nothing to do with it?”

The General nodded. 

Poe’s blood could have turned to ice. Then, “I can go out with a team,” he said. “On the ground. I could find Kylo and the others — I promise you.”

The General spoke, and it was slowly. “I do hope you manage to live up to my expectations.”


	7. Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo and co. are ambushed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

 They were ambushed in Niima Outpost, and Kylo had to be impressed at how well Rey managed to beat the group down. Kylo froze a few of them, while Rey knocked the rest down with her staff. Kylo looked over at her, nodded, clearly impressed. “You’ve some skill with the staff.”

”I learned from the best,” Rey said. Then, “We should get them treatment. Just in case.”

Kylo nodded. One of their attackers was Poe Dameron. Hopefully they could get them all to a safe place before the New Republic sent more soldiers after them... 

***

They set up in Rey’s AT-ST, where Rey had set just about everything up — plants, for example, an old pilot’s helmet, a rag doll, and medical supplies. Snoke looked down at Poe disdainfully. “The mighty Poe Dameron,” he said. “Not terribly intimidating behind his ship, is he? Without being one of our pursuers, he’s no more than a man.”

Kylo could not disagree, though Dameron had become no more than a man when it was revealed what exactly General Organa had done to him. 

"I never understood what exactly anyone could see in this man,” Snoke said. “Certainly not his heart. Like his General, he has none.”

Kylo looked at him. “Master, you haven’t even spoken to him — ’’

”So he says a few pretty words and you’re taken with him? Appearances can be deceiving, Kylo Ren.”

”Master Snoke?” Rey said. “You should see this.”

Kylo looked, and saw the criss-cross of lash wounds on Dameron’s skin. He knew it was there, but Snoke obviously hadn’t. The Grand Master looked down at Dameron, clearly surprised at what he saw. Then, “Did the New Republic...creatures do this to him?”

Kylo nodded. 

“Disgraceful. Then again, given what vicious animals the New Republic are, I should not be surprised.”

Finn looked at Dameron, clearly devastated. Then, “Commander...I’m so sorry. I should have gotten you out of there.” Finn sighed. “He was so kind to me. He was probably one of the only people who was.”

”It...sounds like him.” Even seeing more of Dameron, Kylo wondered what exactly he was doing in the New Republic. Especially given how the General treated him. 

***

Poe’s vision cleared, and it was there that he saw who was above him.  

Kylo. Without the mask, Poe thought, he couldn’t look more beautiful, in his opinion. Black-haired, with milky skin dotted with moles and freckles, and the sort of eyes that were too expressive for their own good. Even hovering above him, Poe could swear that he momentarily looked like some sort of angel from Iego.

”You’re mistaken,” Kylo said softly, and Poe felt heat creep up his cheeks. “I am no angel.”

”You definitely act it,” Poe said. A cough. “Where am I?”

”You’re in an AT-ST, being healed, if you want to know.”

”Healed. Well...thank you.”

”I’m not a cruel man.” A beat. “What were you doing here, anyway?”

Poe told him, as much as he could. Kylo raised an eyebrow. “You think she’ll raze Jakku?”

”I think so,” Poe said. 

“You’re a very odd New Republic soldier. I certainly didn’t expect compassion.”

Poe sighed. He could make a joke about being full of surprises, but this wasn’t funny. “I don’t like innocent people being murdered.”

”You had your share.”

Poe winced. Then, “I didn’t like it.” He didn’t mention the times he’d had nightmares thanks  to those incidents, but Kylo seemed to pick it up anyway. 

“I didn’t expect that.”

”I’m not a monster, and I don’t want to be.”

”I believe you.” And Kylo sounded surprised to have said that. 

Poe laid on his side, looking up at Kylo. He was practically luminous, and Poe couldn’t help but watch him. His smooth skin, his almost angelic face...

Maybe in a way, angels could be dropped into his life. Someone Poe hadn’t expected to be kind. 

Poe paused. Was he, truly, that starved for affection? 

“We’ll keep you safe,” said Kylo. “If General Organa comes for you, that is. I promise.”

”I believe you,” Poe said. And even as he drifted off later, he wondered if Kylo really was the monster that the New Republic made him out to be. 


End file.
